The third day of the 2023 Royal Welsh Show saw the official launch of the Curlew Connections Project, a project aiming to drive curlew recovery in Wales by working with conservation organisations, farmers, landowners and local communities.
Kindly hosted by NFU Cymru on Wednesday 26th July, the launch saw all the partners come together to discuss the project. With discussions led by Lee Oliver (GWCT), the panel included Amanda Perkins (Curlew Country), Nicola Davies (Bannau Brycheiniog National Park), Rhun Jones (Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB), Nick Fenwick (FUW) and Hedd Pugh (NFU Cymru).
The Curlew Connections Wales project is a partnership project led by GWCT Wales, working with Curlew Country, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB. Following what has been outlined in the Wales Action Plan for the Recovery of Curlew developed by Gylfinir Cymru, funding provided by the Welsh Government’s second round of the Nature Networks Fund (delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund) will enable the project partners to work within their respective Important Curlew Areas in Wales.
Following opening speeches from each of the panel members, the floor opened for attendees to ask questions to the panel. This led to interesting discussions surrounding the various threats facing curlews in Wales, specifically predation and agricultural intensification. However, this provided an opportunity to discuss the solutions available to reverse these declines in breeding curlew populations, and how these will be implemented in the Curlew Connections Wales project.
A constant theme throughout the discussions was the significant role that farmers and landowners will play in delivering successful curlew recovery. Farmers were time and again highlighted for not only their desire to restore breeding curlews, but also the ability to carry out the groundwork required to ensure success. Nevertheless, this required the backing of a Welsh agri-environmental scheme which funded and supported the actions necessary for curlew recovery, which could also prove beneficial to wider biodiversity, farming and landscapes.